Olympus E-PL5 gets a grip

If you've already read my take on the PEN E-PM2, this part's going to sound familiar: with this revision, the camera becomes even less distinguishable from its step-down line mate. Both have been updated to use the same sensor as the top-of-Olympus'-line OM-D E-M5, an have gotten a burst-shooting boost to 8fps (albeit with caveats) and an update to 1080/30p video. They also get the same upgrade to a touch-screen LCD. The differences: the E-PL5 has a hardware mode dial, tilting display, and removable grip.

The removable grip is a new, and very welcome addition; one of my complaints about the E-PL3 was the lack of one.

The E-PL5 is a bit of a hard sell at the higher price unless you're looking specifically for a Micro Four Thirds model; the tilting display is probably worth it for many folks over the GF5. But the substantially cheaper Sony Alpha NEX-F3 has one, and a larger sensor to boot.